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TBS Home2026-01-28T15:11:29+00:00

Tampa Bay Surveillance Project

Investigating contaminants for human and environmental health.

TBS Objectives

  • 1 – Sample sediments, oysters, barnacles, fish, and fishers of Tampa Bay to assess concentrations and seasonal patterns of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and legacy pollutants.

  • 2 – Determine relationships between contaminant body burdens and a range of health-related effects.

  • 3 – Characterize associations between chemical contaminants.

  • 4 – Survey human consumption patterns focusing on subsistence-level fishers.

  • 5 – Develop quantitative risk assessments for seafood consumption.

  • 6 – Test prototype remediation methodologies.

  • 7 – Inform various City, County, State and Federal agencies.
Satellite map of Tampa Bay

Satellite Image of Tampa Bay, Florida

“The Tampa Bay Surveillance Project combines the skills and knowledge of the region’s foremost recreational fishing captains and world class scientists from USF’s College of Marine Science and Eckerd College to evaluate pollution from a wide range of industrial, agricultural and personal care products.”

Steven Murawski, Principal Investigator

Trusted Collaborators

Our Management Technical Advisory Group (MTAG) is comprised of experts in water, environmental, wildlife and human health. The knowledge and perspectives from their respective disciplines and organizations will help guide our research to have the biggest impact on our local communities.

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TBS News

Stay current with our latest updates and announcements.

Meet Gabe! 🌊 Gabriel McKenzie is the newest member of the TBS project and one of five @floridahightech undergraduate interns joining research teams at @usfmarinescience this semester. In just three weeks, Gabe has jumped into hands-on lab work, learning how to dissect oysters and barnacles, complete the freeze-drying process, and transfer and load samples for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, which identifies what compounds are present and in what concentrations. This week, he also took part in the internship’s first science communication workshop, building skills to share research with diverse audiences – tools he will carry into future scientific work. Gabe is a fourth-year Marine Biology major with a minor in Environmental Science and Policy at @usfstpetersburg , and he’s also the vice president of his school’s ultimate frisbee team. 🥏 Learn who has made an impact on Gabe’s professional journey, what memory started it all, and everyone’s favorite…which marine animal he’d choose to ride into battle! ⚔️
Before our Tampa Bay samples are analyzed, they go through a crucial preservation step called lyophilization, AKA freeze-drying. Freeze-drying gently removes water while keeping the sample’s structure intact. That’s important because water can interfere with lab testing. By removing it, we help our samples stay stable, evenly mixed, and protected over time—and we protect the sensitive instruments used to study them. This step also prevents damage from ice crystals, slows natural breakdown processes, and helps scientists get clear, consistent, and trustworthy results when samples are analyzed later. That’s why freeze-drying is trusted by researchers, institutions, and industries around the world—and why proper storage matters just as much as collection. From the bay ➡️ preserved ➡️ reliable data #TampaBaySurveillance #FreezeDrying #ScienceCommunication #BehindTheScience
There are only a few tickets left to attend @stpeteinnovationdistrict's 2026 State of Science and Innovation! Listen to Dr. Steve Murawski and other experts from around Tampa Bay share their innovations in research, science, and technology during lightning-fast, six-minute talks. Register to attend in-person or online via the link in our story or the QR code in the post. We hope to see you there! ✨
Meet Roxann! 🌊 Connecting science, organization and outreach, Roxann helps drive the Tampa Bay Surveillance (TBS) project forward. Roxann is a program planner for TBS, bringing together skills from a varied background in wildlife science, education, and business administration to support the project’s daily operations. This May, she’ll earn her Master of Public Administration from the @usf_spa 🙌 She supports the many moving parts of TBS by providing organizational and administrative support that advances marine research. Roxann also leads outreach efforts and creates digital and multimedia content — including the project website and social media — to share our science with the community 💻 One of her favorite parts of the job is working with students — from collaborating with USF graphic design students to develop the TBS brand, to recruiting our newest @floridahightech intern, who you’ll get to meet next week! Learn more about what Roxann does for the TBS project, what she loves about being part of the CMS community, and a fun fact most people don’t know about her. ✨ #tbsproject #usfmarinescience #outreach #womeninstem #eddiemurphy
We love our fish prints! Take a behind-the-scenes tour of our indoor habitats and explore our collection of self-made and generously gifted gyotaku-style fish art. Along the way, you’ll see members of the TBS team and peek into the offices of some of our @usfmarinescience colleagues too. Gyotaku is the traditional Japanese art of fish printing that inspires our modern twist. We use acrylic paints to create vibrant, one-of-a-kind keepsakes – sometimes pressing fish onto paper and sometimes paper onto fish. At the St. Pete Science Festival on February 7, you can join in the fun. Along with our ‘Pin the Fin on the Fish’ activity, we’ll guide you through creating your own print to take home. We can’t wait to get messy with you! 🎨🐟 #tbsproject #gyotaku #marinescience #STEAM #outreach
🔬🌊 Meet Dr. Mya Breitbart! A Distinguished University Professor and microbiologist, Dr. Breitbart has spent more than a decade uncovering the hidden world of marine viruses—helping pioneer the field of viral metagenomics. Through the Tampa Bay Surveillance Project, Dr. Breitbart applies these powerful tools to investigate pharmaceutical pollution in Tampa Bay, exploring solutions to reduce contaminants found in water, sediment, and other environmental samples. Her research bridges innovation, environmental health, and real-world impact right here in our backyard. 👉 Learn about Mya’s experiences that led her to this profession, the marine animal she’d ride into battle, and—yes—when she eats beef jerky! #TBSProject #DistinguishedUniversityProfessor #marineviruses #beefjerky
Alexandra and Aaliyah ‘takin care of business’ AKA prepping for the largest STEAM-focused, family-friendly outreach event in St. Pete. One of the activities the TBS team will offer at the St. Pete Science Festival is ‘Pin the Fin on the Fish’. Art meets science here with poster creations that will allow children to practice their fish anatomy! We encourage you to visit our Tampa Bay Surveillance Team at the St. Pete Science Festival February 7th at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus and Poytner Park-along the waterfront. Study up! 🐟 #STEAM #outreach #fishanatomy
Steve Murawski – our fierce yet gentle leader – is the principal investigator for Tampa Bay Surveillance and a powerhouse researcher at the USF College of Marine Science, with an impressive track record as PI on more than $50 million in grant-funded projects 🔬. The boss man (aka “big fish guy” 🐟) may be humble, so we’ll happily do the bragging for him. With a career spanning more than 30 years at NOAA 🌊, over 13,000 citations across peer reviewed publications, and an unrelenting positive attitude, Steve is known for reminding us: If we’re not having fun, we’re not doing it right! His curiosity and appetite for learning never stops, and our appreciation for his guidance and scientific leadership knows no bounds. Check out Steve’s Staff Feature Friday to learn more about his role in the Tampa Bay Surveillance project – and the *real* motivation behind his high-achieving, decades-long career as a marine scientist ⭐.
We’re back from break and reminiscing on times spent over the holidays. Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated for the New Year! Best wishes to all in 2026! #TBSProject #USFCMS #HappyNewYear
Meet Layne Leggett 👑🦪 AKA our “Barnacle Queen” and unofficial drill team captain (iykyk 🔩). Layne is a master’s student and graduate research assistant in Dr. Murawski’s lab, specializing in Biological Oceanography. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she somehow found her way from the Midwest to becoming one of Tampa Bay’s go-to barnacle experts. You can usually find Layne dissecting barnacles for hours, drilling hundreds of holes into tiles, or helping fellow students as a statistics teaching assistant 📊🤝. Her research uses barnacles to assess contaminant levels across Tampa Bay, helping us better understand pollution and its impacts on benthic ecosystems. When she’s not in the lab or the field, Layne is shark tooth hunting 🦈, weightlifting 💪, and spreading her passion for outreach and invertebrate conservation. We’re so excited to have her on the Tampa Bay Surveillance Project team! Learn what marine animal she'd ride into battle, her backup career plan, the defining moment that led her to graduate studies at USF CMS, and her role in the Tampa Bay Surveillance project! 🌊✨
USF College of Marine Science master’s student, Layne Leggett, gives us a glimpse into her graduate research with the Barnacle Baseline project 🐚 This video highlights the fun side of deploying barnacle arrays at some truly beautiful Tampa Bay sites—her well-earned reward for drilling holes in 408 glass tiles and zip-tying them to PVC pipes to create 17 arrays! Field days include deploying arrays, saying hi to dolphins 🐬, and bringing wet-season barnacle tiles back to the lab. Thank you, Layne, for the incredible video and all your hard work! 👏🌊 #TBSProject #USFmarinescience #fieldwork
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Funding for this work was made available through award NA23NOS4690261 of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Competitive Research Program to the University of South Florida Tampa Bay Surveillance Project.

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